I HATED being a kid, I could not wait to be free of my horrible parents and have autonomy over my life and be away from them and their 'disappointment' in me and their weird rules. I wasn't even allowed to have friends round or go to other people's houses, it was miserable. They were control freaks who saw me as a possession they owned. I hated school too and was bullied at various points. What got me through it was knowing that it wasn't going to last forever and that one day I would not have to go there any more and I would have my own living space. Even swapping for a weekday job which takes a fair amount of your life, I would still be 'free' in the evenings and weekends, not a prisoner 24/7. I miss THAT, because what do I tell myself now? I remember having hope for the future and being excited about the things I was going to do - travelling, meeting my heroes, work milestones etc. Now it's all just memories and I have nothing really ahead.
I'm glad so many of you seem to have had lovely childhoods though. It must be some source of comfort even if you can't go back to that time directly.